I am interested in buying the DRT800 but it seems to be no longer available from most retailers. Is there a problem with this model? The 40-hour units seem to be what the retailers are pushing; however, I know that I would find the 40-hour capacity inadequate. Are there unspoken performance issues with the DRT800? Is it out of date for other reasons?

Also, I like the price:value of the DRT 800 as long as Tivo's $150 rebate still applies to this unit. Has anyone had issues with the rebate? I want to make the best possible selection of a Tivo unit that gives me the option to record programs to DVD and provides at least 80-hours of content storage. Please let me know of any factors to be considered before buying a DRT800. I greatly appreciate any advice.

I contend (and have in many other threads throughout these forums) that the larger capacity more expensive boxes are being allowed to deplete from the retail channels in anticipation of the introduction of new TIVO hardware early in the New Year (early = sometime betwee Jan and April).

What new hardware?

Well MY crystal ball and guess is :

1) The HD-CableCard TIVO we've heard so much about... in some form or another and

2) A new standard for 'analog' or non-HD box to replace the current Series 2 units. I'm calling it a Series 3 box. It would closely mirror the new Taiwan box in capacity and capabilities. I suspect it would have more processor power, more memory, greater HD capacity (the TW box is 160 Gig), built in ethernet (the TW box has this) and higher resolution video -- again, like the TW box.

I could be wrong.. but I suspect that the higher capacity Humax boxes may be replaced with something bigger n' better as well.

J

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Bullwinkle's Law:

As discussion progresses in any TCF thread where the thread resembles trolling from the first post; the likelihood of the original poster bringing up stock data nears 1.

TiVo has said, repeatedly, the HD boxes won't be out until mid-to-late 2006. So the CableCARD box isn't coming soon. We'll probably get a firmer time frame at CES in 2 weeks.

There may be a Seires 2.6 (people call the silver units 2.5) refresh, but I think the real issue is just that the lower capacity, lower prices units sell a hell of a lot better. And for the holidays they used all the manufacturing capacity they had to crank out the lower capacity boxes, to sell as many as possible. That's depleted stocks of the larger boxes.

I am interested in buying the DRT 800 also and i have run into the same problem... 40's are everywhere...Where did u get yours and have you used the firewire plug in for a camcorder. I was hopeing it would be easy to put the tapes on DVD. I also considered buying separate tivo and dvd recorder units but was thinking this would be the better way. Any suggestions would be helpful.